1984
by PalmerBlake
Summary: Clint wouldn't say he had a perfect life but how will he feel when he meets a dangerous woman who offers to change it. 14 Year old Clint.


**I've decided to use Black Widow's real origin story and put a twist on it so she can cross paths with Hawkeye. She would probably be around 56 here with the appearance of a 20 year old. Clint is a bit out of character here and if you don't like his background story being altered I recommend you don't read this one. **

**Anyway, hope you like it. Please leave a review, they make me feel as though this was worth it.**

* * *

When Clint ran away from the orphanage 4 years ago he couldn't have imagined his life being this way if he tried. Stuck in a shady travelling circus with a bunch borderline psychopaths and a brother that envied him to a point of near hate, Clint thought his life was pretty flawed. He didn't understand the people that came to him after shows and congratulated him, told him that they were jealous of the freedom his life contained and his near perfect aim. His aim was nothing to be proud of, in fact, Lillian the acrobat said there were people out there that would utilise his skills for evil. Clint didn't think that was something people should want, he could tell them right there that his life was certainly not full of freedom. He had to get up with the sun every morning and practice with Bullseye, the not so nice instructor that first noticed Clint's natural skill. He had to practice trapeze with Dmitri for a full afternoon before he was sent to Lillian for acrobatics. Clint was definitely not allowed to leave the perimeter of the circus or he would face a good beating. The worst part of Clint's day though was going back to his tent to his brother Barney. He could deal with Barney not liking him but he couldn't live with himself if the only family he had left hated him for something he couldn't help.

Saturday nights were always the busiest; the circus tends to draw out many families and quite a few couples. Clint never did get nervous before a show instead he let a calm feeling wash over him. He always performed best when he feel every move he made and not have it masked by his fear. Stepping out into the arena always got him though; being able to see the faces of over 200 hundred people staring at him was a bit unnerving. He performed perfectly though, he never expected anything less from his flawless aim.

He was on the trapeze now and the fear was bugging him more than usual, something was wrong. He landed on his 4 metre high post and bowed to his crowd and forced himself to scan the audience for the problem. Everything was normal; he was staring into the faces of enchantment as usual, that is until his eyesight caught green. The feeling was back and he focused of the face that the greener than grass eyes belonged to. As the woman came into focus Clint was taken aback, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her skin was like porcelain, she has full red lips and high cheekbones and her face was framed by strands of fire. Her hair was a deep red almost like blood; it rolled over one shoulder and fell to her navel. What struck Clint the most though was her eyes, he would describe them as emeralds with a light being shone through them, he felt as though she was looking into his soul and learning his demons. Clint quickly looked away from the woman whose eyes were like a trap and flipped off his post into the net and disappeared through the curtain.

He didn't notice until he was walking through the dark residential area that it was terror he felt when he saw the woman, she was the type to haunt your nightmares and yet she looked as though she wouldn't hurt a fly in that playful purple dress. Clint was suddenly drawn from his thoughts when he ran into another body; he looked up to see the face of his brother hovering high above him with a sneer permanently etched to his face.

"I've had it with you, perfect little Clint who can't do anything wrong", with that Barney promptly kicked Barton legs out from under him and for good measure kicked multiple time while he was on the floor.

Clint was almost in tears as he tried to get away from his bother. He had done this; it was his stupid aim that made Barney hate him so much. How could jealousy drive someone to do something like this though? Swallowing hard Clint powered himself to his feet and shoved Barney away with his full force which was quite a lot.

"What are you going to do?" Clint asked with a slightly wavering voice.

Barney advanced towards him until he had Clint backed up against a wall.

"I'm gonna kill you baby bro" Barney drew a knife from the inside of his jacket and Clint closed his eyes, the knife was raised for the kill when a voice that sounded like death sliced through the night.

"First kill's always the hardest"

Barney froze and lowered the knife when he saw a woman emerge from the darkness, her purple dress flowing past her knees and her red hair like blood. She would have looked completely harmless if it wasn't for her eyes.

She was advancing towards the boys and Clint still hadn't opened his eyes in fear of what he might see. Barney didn't back down from a fight the same way his baby brother would; he stood square on to the woman and pointed his knife at her.

"I wouldn't take another step if I was you lady"

The smile that appeared on the woman's face was both condescending and evil and in a flash of Purple and red Barney's knife was imbedded in the ground and out of reach.

"Goodnight" was all the woman said before without warning she pinched the pressure point on is neck and he fell to the floor in a pile of limbs.

"You can open your eyes now. I'm not here to hurt you"

Clint waited for a minute before opening his eyes to the woman he thought would haunt his nightmares, the woman that was going to dance in his dreams. She didn't look dangerous anymore. She was smiling and those evil eyes were now bright and friendly. Clint wasn't going to be fooled so easily however, she was dangerous, the dark aura radiating off of her was a loud indication.

"How can I be so sure?"

"You can't but let me just say, if I wanted you dead or hurt, you already would be" She smirked as she once again looked into his eyes and straight into his soul. She, Clint thought, was the type of woman to whom you would tell all your secrets to, even if you thought it was a bad idea.

"Is he dead?" Clint asked focussing his attention to his unmoving brother and away from her eyes.

"No but he is going to be out for about an hour, I can kill him if you want"

Clint, to his surprise, contemplated her offer. Life without Barney around would be easier, there would no longer be the dark looming of jealousy following him around or the snide comments every day. Losing the last of his family though, he wasn't sure he could handle that and if Barney ever went down, it was going to be by his hand.

"Let me" Clint said. A flash crossed the woman's eyes that Clint thought looked like disappointment as she handed him Barney's knife.

"Don't regret it" Was all she said as she stood to the side. Clint didn't contemplate her words at the time but he'll wish he did.

Clint walked up to his still brother and thought about how he was going to o it. He could stab him in the heart and be done with it, he could slit his throat and drag it out or he could even stab him between the eyes.

"The heart" The woman suddenly said as though she could hear his thoughts "You'll want to do this quickly".

Clint decided she was right and raised the knife. He didn't give himself the time to consider guilt or the fact what he was doing was murdering a person who could not put up any defence. The knife went down and it was done.

He didn't feel the way he thought he would, there was no guilt and there was no fulfilment either. Clint felt empty like the woman's eyes and he finally understood her warning. He had just taken the life of his own brother, his last family, the boy that used to protect him in the orphanage, the boy he grew up with.

"What do I do now?" He asked her almost desperately "I have nobody left, what do I do?"

"Run. Now is your chance to leave this place for good, you don't have any ties here anymore. There is nothing here for you kid and as soon as you're out, as soon as you're free, you'll figure out what to do next."

She was right. He would run away from this life and start anew. He could spend his time helping others, maybe become a police officer later in life or join the army and fight for his country.

"Here take this" The woman handed him a large wallet "$2,000, that should get you pretty far and don't worry about the body, I'll take care of that. People will think that you ran away together. Now go".

Clint didn't hesitate and started to away until he realised something.

"Hey!" He called to the woman "What's your name?"

"They call me Black Widow but you can call me Natalia" She shouted back with fondness covering her voice.

"Thank you, Natalia, you're my saviour!" He shouted back as he disappeared over the horizon, leaving Black Widow with a rare smile on her face.


End file.
